THE ‘#Gammadda100Day’ INITIATIVE
How a small group of Sri Lankans are challenging the system and changing lives.
A few months ago, a Sri Lankan news network, News 1st, decided to do something different. Partnering with the University of Peradeniya, they split up into several groups and spent a whole month walking the length and breadth of our country, talking to rural Sri Lankans. This was perhaps the very first time a Sri Lankan private sector company dedicated a whole month of its time on a public service initiative.
But what was its purpose?
“You can never understand poverty, unless you see it… we refused to believe the statistics. We knew, that rural Sri Lanka was struggling. We knew that our system of governance was leaving our people behind. But we just needed to see it for ourselves. That’s when our Chairman gave us his directive – go out and find out!”, explained Chevaan Daniel, Group Director of The Capital Maharaja Organisation, the parent company that owns and operates News 1st.
The month-long study was compiled into a comprehensive report by the University of Peradeniya. The findings within the report were so shocking, even the UN took note. At the UN World Humanitarian Summit held in Istanbul Turkey, the Gammedda Door-to-Door campaign final report was given pride of place as a flag-bearer for private sector humanitarian efforts.
Unwilling to sit back and do nothing, News 1st has now decided, enough is enough. If the authorities were blind to the struggles of the common Sri Lankan or somehow unable to fix even the most basic needs, then “we will bring the general public and private sector together, to resolve their most urgent needs”, noted Udaya Wanniarachchi, The General-Secretary of the Gammadda Initiative.
The News 1st team has so far raised millions as part of its ‘100 Day Initiative’ set to commence on the 20th of July. Village roads will be rebuilt, tanks built by Kings will be renovated, wells will be constructed, bridges will be repaired, schools community halls will be refurbished, families living in mud huts will be helped as they build their own homes… all of this and more, because the people of Sri Lanka have decided to support their own countrymen and women.
The News 1st Team hopes to complete over 100 projects that will change the lives of thousands if not millions of Sri Lankans, in 100 days starting on the 20th. Various professional organizations have already come forward to volunteer their services and provide expertise required.
“We are a small team of 50-60 young Sri Lankans. We come from all parts of Sri Lanka, mostly rural areas. We are Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, Burghers… and technically, we are news professionals. What people don’t see, is the tremendous amount of work that goes into running a 24-hour news operation whilst also carrying out these massive humanitarian operations. But we are able to do it, because we believe, we are a TEAM OF LEADERS. Everyone at News 1st, is groomed for leadership from Day 1…”,noted Chathuranga Hapuarachchi, one of the youngest members of the News 1st team.
But this isn’t just about News 1st. While the team is certainly proud of what it has been able to achieve and hopes to achieve in the future, the dream is much bigger- a better and brighter tomorrow. Not just for a few, but for every Sri Lankan.
Perhaps Yasarath Kamalsiri, GM of News 1st put it best when he said this: “If we can come together and harness individual brilliance towards achieving a common cause, we can lift ourselves out of this quagmire we are in. There’s bound to be doubters along the way. We don’t care. We are bound to make a few mistakes. But we are 100% the public will be with us.”
The GAMMADDA 100 DAY INITIATIVE starts on the 20th of July in three locations: Kilinochchi in the North, Dambayaaya in the Central Province & Boraalawewa in the South.
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